The U.S. Soccer Federation headquarters is at 1801 S. Prairie, not that far from Soldier Field. Yet the men’s national team never seems to play a “home game” in Chicago.
The men’s national team hasn’t played a game of any sort in Chicago since losing 4-3 to Germany on June 13, 1993. It will not play any of its three home matches in the first round of World Cup qualifying at Soldier Field.
“That’s a good question,” U.S. Soccer chief operating officer Tom King said, seeming as genuinely baffled as many fans in Chicago who would like to see the national team up close. “We have considered Chicago for a couple of events.”
The problem, King said, is television. Lately, ESPN has been showing national team matches and King said that television wants a 7 p.m. kickoff, which would mean a 6 p.m. start in Chicago–considered too early to attract a good crowd.
The U.S. will play home first-round qualifying matches Aug. 16 in Foxboro, Mass., Sept. 3 in Washington and Oct. 11 in Columbus, Ohio.
Another problem, King said, is the limited calendar. The weather and the Bears’ season make it impossible to schedule a match between September and the following May. King said that should the U.S. advance to the next round and the schedule gives the U.S. a home match sometime in June, July or August, Chicago may get a chance to see its national team in action.
“I think Chicago is a great venue,” King said. “With enough lead time and working with [Fire General Manager] Peter Wilt’s first-class staff, we would have a very well-presented event.”
Open options: Fire forward Ante Razov’s contract expires at the end of this season. The league has recently signed some of its younger players to long-term deals before the end of their contracts. Despite being among the leaders in scoring all season, the league and Razov have not talked about a new deal since the beginning of the season, Razov said. Razov has said he would like to play overseas someday, but isn’t giving a new deal any thought yet.
“We’ll see when the season is over,” he said. “I’m just trying to win a championship [in Chicago].”
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Even though he has a desire to play in Europe, Razov said he would be open to a new deal with Major League Soccer.
“I’ll listen to anything,” he said.
Flip the switch: It has been a tough season for D.C. United on and off the field. United, three-time MLS champion, has played poorly throughout the season and has been plagued by poor weather in virtually all its home matches. Saturday, however, was a dry, hot evening and a crowd of more than 21,000 came out to see United battle the top team in MLS, the Kansas City Wizards.
So, of course, the match had to be abandoned at halftime when a power failure at RFK Stadium knocked out the lights. The match was scoreless at the half and since at least a half was played, the match will go into the books as a tie.
Golden owies: Both of the league’s premier signings this season are struggling with injuries, which may be complicated by age. The Fire’s Hristo Stoitchkov injured his right groin Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale in the Fire’s 4-2 loss to the Fusion. Stoitchkov had had a nagging strain to his left groin for six weeks. Fire coach Bob Bradley had said he hoped the injury would not nag Stoitchkov the rest of the season, but it appears that it will.
Meanwhile, MetroStars and Germany defender Lothar Matthaus sustained a thigh injury while preparing for the European Championships, which began this weekend. Matthaus trained Saturday and said he should be ready when Germany begins play Monday against Romania.